Day 5 -- Monday December 15

It was the worst of times. I loaded myself into the shuttle carrying people to and from the parking area over to the set. The woman who had stepped into the back seat had some things to say. She and the driver got onto the topic of the approaching wrap date. This woman, who I never did actually identify, proclaimed that she would be outta there Saturday come hell or high water. Thereason? "In the ten years I have been working, I have never hated, And I mean hated working on a job like I hate working on this one. I'm just tired of the f---ing idiots. I'm tired of dealing with them. We get these women standing around in the freezing cold with almost nothing on and then we hold for planes. It's just so f---ing stupid and I'm f---ing sick of it.

Her point was valid. Someone put it a little more eloquently later when he said, "Two hundred miles of coastline and we're shooting right under LAX." During the day, two planes take off from LAX every two minutes. They fly directly West out over the ocean and then maneuver from there. Well, the only thing in between LAX and the ocean is a small strip of beach that was, is, and for the next five days, will be host to the cast and crew of Beach Movie. This has made tempers short and dispositions unpleasant. The tension was palpable from the moment I arrived and escalated as the night wore on. Sound from this location may all be useless and much time is spent waiting for planes to clear and going back to get plane-covered dialogue.

Tony Edwards, Traci Bingham, and Victoria

It was the best of times. Did I mention a young lady named Victoria Silvstedt? Well, she was back in full form tonight for our first appearance at the party. We did not have any scripted lines, but when I first saw the director, John Quinn, this evening, he suggested that we add something for the officers to say. I set to work. A couple of lame ideas later, Tony had a suggestion. I woudl say, "I'm so happy you introduced me to Julie. She's teaching me a little Swedish tongue." The response would be, "What words have you learned?" And I would say, "I haven't learned any words." The final evolution of the idea, and what was shot tonight, had Victoria saying she had taught me a little Swedish tongue. I is then asked, "What have you learned?" And the response is the two of us KISSING. Yes, true. Making out with the Playmate of the Year. Oh, the sacrifices one has to make for his art. Sigh.

Met some other cool people tonight, too, while waiting for them to get to the kiss scene. Some nice people are working on the movie. And I really had a great time tonight. It's a shame there is trouble brewing for the show given the tension and conflicts. At one point late in the shoot tonight, the 1st A.D. called "Roll Sound," which would indicate the scene is about ten seconds from being shot. The lead woman, Gabrielle Anwar, was still removing the layers of clothes she had on to protect her from the frigid temperatures on the beach. She was not ten seconds from shooting and she let everyone know, shouting "F---ing no! You will wait! I'm not f---ing ready and you can wait for me for a change! I'm taking off my f---ing thermals which I have to wear so I don't catch pneumonia while making this delightful film!"

I guess she was mad that she didn't get to make out with a Playmate.

Go on to Day 6

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